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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24175234">kids with the good smile</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/washingmachineheart/pseuds/washingmachineheart'>washingmachineheart</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>BoBoiBoy (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Future, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Kissing, M/M, Minor Character Death, Mutual Pining, Self-Indulgent, Slow Burn, i only exist to write about them yup, this was, very very, whoops</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 04:14:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,328</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24175234</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/washingmachineheart/pseuds/washingmachineheart</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>somewhere in the future, boboiboy and fang make up for lost time.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>BoBoiBoy/Fang, BoiFang - Relationship, Fang &amp; Boboiboy, Fang/Boboiboy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>kids with the good smile</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>title is a lyric from roy blair's "grow up"</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>He stood in his room, a dissonant feeling washing over him.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Boboiboy hadn’t realized it would be years long till he would set back foot in the room where he spent his early teenage years. But it no longer mattered now. He was here, back home for the first time in a while.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>A full-time stay on Earth still felt foreign, with the time spent in space he had forgotten what it felt like on the daily. He smiled at the Styrofoam planets hanging by strings on the ceiling, old posters on the walls that had aged long since that they had already disappeared into their death. Dust covered his old desk where he did his homework, and the appearance of black spots on his fingerprints made him sad.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>But he was here now. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He would never get the years he had lost in between, but he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>here. </span>
  </em>
  <span>The thought rang like a loud bell in his head, and it filled his stomach with childlike ecstasy. This was a monumental shift. And he would happily move with it.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Your life is yours now.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>No more weight. No more responsibilities that bore the lives of the entire galaxy. No more risk-taking. No more powers. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>No more.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The real estate agent (her name tag read Nina) was waiting for him downstairs. And he would tell her the good news.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The little chocolate dessert café no longer existed.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>It had been replaced by a small playground, where the neighborhood kids were beginning to crowd around. The happy noises they emitted entered his ears, and in turn made him wonder what he should be feeling.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The shop had been meant to be passed down to him. But he knew that he wouldn’t be able to fulfill Tok Aba’s request, despite that being the biggest reason he had moved to Pulau Rintis in the first place all those years ago. As the years went on, ranks began to rise and Tok Aba did not grow younger.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Eventually a compromise was made, and if he was being frank Boboiboy would never be able to let go of the guilt he felt. His grandfather’s last moments were conveyed to him over a video transmission, and he had watched his loving eyes close through a screen.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t forgive himself for not being able to bid him a proper goodbye.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Boboiboy sighed. A boy fell off a swing, his misfortune returned with hertz of laughter by his peers.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, hey,” he couldn’t help but intervene, as the boy’s face crumpled in humiliation.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Keep on laughing and someday your pain might be one worth joking over,” a familiar voice behind him interjected, which prompted the kids to quickly help their friend.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t believe it.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>A mop of familiar purple hair, smirking behind his glasses and dressed in a simple grey shirt and jeans - civilian attire. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Fang!”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He immediately hugged his former subordinate, still in disbelief of the very fact that he was on Earth.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, okay,” Fang chuckled, wrapping his hand around the crook of his arm to let go. Irritatingly still adorned in his classic fingerless gloves. “I always knew you were a softie, but I didn’t realize retirement meant you’d turn into a teddy bear.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“So I can’t hug my best friend?” Boboiboy quipped, smiling a big smile. He hadn’t changed a bit. Still as cynical as ever.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You can, just maybe not in front of a bunch of kids I’ve just tried to reprimand. You just dumbed down my intimidating presence.” Sure enough, the kids’ attention had been shifted off playing and onto the two, large eyes looking at them expectantly.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Boboiboy chuckled. He had missed this, where the sort of banter was once daily routine.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Join me on a walk?” Boboiboy quipped, holding out a free hand.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Which, despite the fact that he had made the offer - to his surprise, Fang took.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Lead the way, cadet.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He might have been wearing dark clothes, but the smile on his face shone brightly.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt; </span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“So what brings you to Earth? Business?”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They sat by Rintis Beach, on the sand and by the waves so it would be able to lap their toes. Boboiboy had bought them both coconut juice straight from the fruit, sipping on them as they watched the colors of the horizon change.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Nah, I just thought I’d visit. It’s been a while.” The straw wedged in between Fang’s lips, so the sentence came out through the half of his mouth that was able to move.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Really.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Got a problem with that? So sorry to disrupt your retirement peace, your highness.” Fang bowed his head in jest, eliciting a chortle from Boboiboy.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I just didn’t think you’d be let off so easily from missions just to come back to Earth,” he admitted. Applying for leave days as a cadet were probably one of the scarier things he had done back in the day.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Things change,” Fang shrugged. “Tarung finally retired not too long ago.” </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Has he now?”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Yup.” Fang interrupted himself with another sip, enjoying the tropical drink. “He’s letting himself actually be a conservationist. Board of authorities is different now. Rules haven’t changed, but I guess the way they’re impressed is a lot different.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Koko Ci?”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Still in office. He won’t admit it but he isn’t what he used to be.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” The sudden thought of his grandfather suddenly flashed in his mind, and it made him a little sad. Time just went by so quickly without him realizing.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t panic. He’s just a little worn down is all. After keeping that gruff façade up for years the jig gets up when it has to. I personally think he should take some serious time off if he won’t be off board. Recharge the old batteries.” Fang placed a hand on his shoulder, noticing the fact that he looked worried about the thought of an older Koko Ci. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s terribly thoughtful of you.” And that made Boboiboy grin, which annoyed him.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The usual smirk spread across Fang’s face, as he looked into the horizon. “Well, I do have a heart.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The conversation dissolved into the sea, the lapping waves and birds occupying the empty space in between them. Not that either of them minded, each other’s presence a good source of familiar comfort.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Anyway,” Fang started, resting his coconut onto the sand and placing his hands onto them, allowing them to take his body weight. “I have a two-week off after a successful infiltration mission. So I thought I’d come back here.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I see.” Unbeknownst to him, Boboiboy was beginning to </span>
  <em>
    <span>see </span>
  </em>
  <span>Fang under the sunset hues, the sunrays reflecting off his face wonderfully.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Time had passed. Lots of it, as a matter of fact. But it seemed that no matter what his fond  admiration for his subordinate never seemed to wane away. His very presence made his stomach feel a good sort of warm, and he hadn’t realized how </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>happy he was to have him back on Earth.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He felt like a teenager again, where the times they had spent together made him unusually giddy and happy.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Boboiboy realized he had been looking a little too long, and immediately shifted his view to the horizon.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“So how </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> the retirement life, really?” Fang turned to him expectantly, a look of curiosity on his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s only been a couple months, but it’s alright. Just…” He trailed off, his train of thought disappearing into a track he didn’t know existed.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess it’s just weird,” this time it was his turn to take a sip. He was taking a lot longer to finish his drink, and the liquid wasn’t cold anymore. “Everything’s changed.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I noticed.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Of course he would. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Yup.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“But I am relieved,” he breathed, wanting the truth out of his system badly. “This life.. it’s mine now. It’s odd, but I want to learn to be okay with that.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You will.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No more responsibilities. No more playing superhero.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Never thought I’d live to hear you say that,” Fang admitted, fiddling with the straw as it flung lazily over the rough opening of the coconut. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well…” Fang’s tongue clicked, his mind registering for the right words to say. “You were always better than everyone else. You were the strongest. That’s just a fact. I just didn’t think that you would give that up.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Boboiboy felt his face go a little hot, surprised by the earnesty of the compliment.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Fang allowed the sand to take his form, his body resting on it horizontally now. The waves lapped onto his feet nicely, covering them in its cold embrace.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>This time he placed his unfinished drink on the sand, and joined his subordinate as they lay on the beach. The evening sky was beginning to turn pink, a sign that the evening was slowly starting to verge into night. Ignorant clouds danced in their midst, large and fluffy. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess at some point it all starts to get to you more than you realise,” Boboiboy murmured, as he shut himself off from the view. He had spent the early months of his retirement alone, but the burden of beginning a new life was lifting itself the more Fang was putting it into retrospective. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can I tell you a secret?” It was a question, but sounded more like a statement. Knowing Fang it could have been both. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sometimes I think of running away from it all too.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t follow.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know…” This time it was Fang’s turn to trail off, trying to find the right words to say. “It’s just that I've been doing this my </span>
  <em>
    <span>whole </span>
  </em>
  <span>life. I’m starting to think there’s more to me than just… this.” He lifted his wrist into the air, his purple watch that granted him his shadow manipulation abilities looking at the pair glaringly. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I know I used to be so hung up on popularity. Being the best. Surpassing you, mostly. But I guess as you grow older you understand why you used to be so stupid before.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“And why’s that?” He couldn’t help but smirk, remembering all their immature chivalry as sixth graders, constant banter over who was the stronger hero. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was lonely,” he said nonchalantly. “I guess I just wanted someone to tell me I had it together. But hell. I was still a kid. A kid who didn’t know what the hell happened to his home, and why his brother treated him like a soldier instead of his sibling. I never got to process all that, not really. All that vying for attention.. when I guess I just needed a hug.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah.” He certainly wasn’t expecting that, but thought it a good answer nonetheless. He’s really been thinking about this, Boboiboy realized. And wondered what else was in this particular thought process.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess… right now I think I should do something for me, you know?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you have in mind?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe go on a hiatus. Perhaps I just need time to think.” Fang clicked his tongue and closed his eyes, like being unsure was something he wasn’t always familiar with. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s alright,” Boboiboy sighed, marveling at the unknown that was their futures. “You don’t always have to know. You can figure it out on the way.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve always sort of thought about it. Going back to school. Settling down.” Fang was facing him now, a hopeful smile suddenly plastered on his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“School?” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Stupid. You know what he means. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. Find something I’m good at, get a job.” The thought seemed to ignite a spark in him, his expression exhibiting a wondrous glow at the prospect. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Boboiboy smirked. “Settling down too, huh.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Fang chuckled sheepishly. “Sorry. Sounds kind of dumb now that I’ve admitted that out loud.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Boboiboy realized he was getting lost in his eyes the longer they faced each other, the hues of crimson enunciated wonderfully by the light rays of the Malaysian sunset. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>During their years as young heroes, those same eyes used to be filled with a youthful rage. A fire behind the reds, often seeking answers and seething with the weight of his own world. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But that had changed. Behind those eyes was just a person now. A person who was willing to be vulnerable, a person who had changed and grown constantly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Almost as if at his core, he really was human. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Fang edged closer, his fingertips coated with sand lightly touching his own. The distance between them was beginning to close, and he found himself contributing to that. Instinctively he took his entire hand, despite the atoms of sand getting in between their skin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know,” Boboiboy breathed, “I sort of had a crush on you back in the day.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“For what it’s worth,” Fang replied, as he allowed himself into Boboiboy’s space, “that feeling still applies to me.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because right now I absolutely adore you.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shut up.” Was all his subordinate had to say, and before he knows it Fang’s lips have met his and he is convinced that for all the adventures he’s ever experienced, there has been no euphoria like this one. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everything. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Everything, </span>
  </em>
  <span>from the moment they had decided they would get along had been leading up to this moment. Fang’s gesture might have been bold, but his lips were shy and compliant, dissolving into his like a choreographed dance. Yet so full of all the things he might have wanted to say and do all those years. Boboiboy allows himself to melt into the kiss, and he is surprised with how naturally it’s happening. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was no rush, no frenzy, or ego to speak of. No overheated passion. Neither tried to make it more of what it was, their heads both spinning and their hearts full of each other. He found himself humming Fang’s name as they broke apart for air and silenced promptly with a taste that could only be described as oddly sweet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Finally. </span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
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